


Dressed to Impress

by NamelesslyNightlock, Rabentochter



Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [38]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard, Asgardians are assholes, BAMF Loki (Marvel), BAMF Tony Stark, Challenges, Established Relationship, Fights, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Sex, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Not Thor though, Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Stubborn Tony Stark, Thor is a Good Bro (Marvel), Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Worried Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:29:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29918325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: The people of Asgard seem blind to exactly who Loki is– but Tony has something up his sleeve which just might open their eyes.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [38]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1388356
Comments: 41
Kudos: 331
Collections: Best Complete MCU Fics Ever





	Dressed to Impress

**Author's Note:**

  * For [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).



> Stars you prompted this so long ago you may have forgotten about it, but we hope you enjoy it anyway!  
>   
> This is NamesslyNightlock's 250th fi fic 🙌🏼  
>   
> Art by **Rabentochter** , fic by **NamelesslyNightlock**.

Asgardians were Assholes™.

That was something that Tony knew all too well– because he’d heard the stories that Loki had told about his childhood with lips pressed thin, and he’d been able to read between the lines of Thor’s boisterous stories well enough to work out that they hadn’t been fun and games for everyone involved.

He knew because of the way Loki sounded when he talked about the people he’d left behind on Asgard, the casual way he discussed how they disapproved of his use of seiðr, and the easy tone he used when he talked about how he was _different_.

And Tony knew because, when Loki first asked Tony if he wanted to come to Asgard to meet his parents and _Thor’s_ friends, he hesitated.

Tony was concerned the first time Loki paused in the middle of a sentence, because if there was one thing Tony could say for sure about Loki, it was that he didn’t hesitate with his words. Oh, he would choose them carefully, he was a master at picking out exactly which words to use in any given situation. But once knew what he was going to say, he never stumbled, and he always stuck to his guns, the words flowing without a single pause.

Hell, even back before they were truly comfortable with each other, when they were flirting and teasing and then when they finally admitted the way that they felt, Loki’s words had always flowed smoothly, no matter how nervous he got. It was a skill that Tony had always both admired and envied. It never seemed to fail.

Until now.

“Anthony,” Loki said, his voice not quite shaking, but there was a tremor to the end of the word that suggested he wasn’t far off. “I… there is something that I… would like to ask you.”

“Is something wrong?” Tony asked, immediately dropping what he was doing and crossing the workshop, reaching out to take Loki’s hands.

“No,” Loki replied. “Well, perhaps– I need to ask whether you would…” he paused again, the muscles in his jaw clenching as if the question were hard for him to say. “I need to go to Asgard.”

“And you don’t want to,” Anthony summarised instantly, knowing that was at least _part_ of the problem here. “If you don’t want to go, then you don’t have to—”

“I _do_ have to,” Loki cut in, his voice a little stronger as the irritation fuelled him. “My father has ordered that I return for Thor’s coronation.”

“Even after what happened the last time?” Tony asked dubiously– and then he winced when he saw the look on Loki’s face. “Sorry, I didn’t… are you sure there’s no way that you can get out of it?”

“Very sure,” Loki replied– and if _Loki_ was admitting that, then there likely wouldn’t be a loophole that _Tony_ would be able to find.

It just meant finding an answer was very simple. “Then I’ll go with you.”

Loki frowned, and Tony shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what you were going to ask, right?” Tony said. “Whether I would go with you? Well, if you think that I’m going to let you go up there and face those assholes alone—”

“I am perfectly capable of spending time in Asgard,” Loki muttered. “I know how to deal with them.”

And while Tony didn’t doubt that, he… well, okay, so maybe he doubted it a little. It wasn’t that he thought Loki couldn’t cope, it was more that he was fairly certain Loki wasn’t aware of just how crappily they treated him. Or, perhaps it was worse– perhaps Loki _had_ noticed, but actually believed that he deserved to be treated that way, as if that kind of thing were normal. It would make sense as to _why_ he talked about the things they had said and done to him oh so casually, when even just Loki’s recount was enough to set Tony’s teeth on edge and want to strangle the whole lot of them. Like how Loki said that in the eyes of Asgard, he was a lesser warrior for practicing seiðr and was never permitted its use during tournaments, even those that were supposedly ‘open’ and without rules. Especially when Tony knew that in a fight where they had been allowed to use all of their abilities, Loki could have wiped the floor with the whole lot of them.

“I know that you’re perfectly capable of dealing with them on your own,” Tony said. “But you don’t have to, anymore. And you can’t stop me from– hey, why _are_ you trying to stop me? You’re the one who was going to _ask—”_

“Odin wants you to come, so I must ask. But if you refuse, then you’re right. No one on Asgard can stop you from doing what you want, not so long as you are _here_.”

The implications in Loki’s words were clear. If Tony went to Asgard, then he would have to listen to Odin as well. But hey, if Tony were being honest, he kind of wanted the chance to go up there and not only see what the people were like for himself, but so that he could see the place that, for better or worse, Loki had spent most of his life calling home.

And besides… with the right mindset, this could be an _opportunity._

“You know, I actually _want_ to go,” Tony said. “I mean, that’s where you grew up. I’d like to see it. You can show me all of your old haunts, your favourite places, spots where you planned your most epic pranks.”

Loki’s eyes actually lit up a little at that, but his tone was still grim. “Are you sure?” he asked. “You _would_ have to meet my father—”

“Hey, I put up with Thor on the daily,” Tony shrugged. “Surely I can cope with spending a few hours in your dad’s royal presence.”

“It will likely be a few days,” Loki warned.

“Even better. We can make a vacation out of it. I’ll tell Pepper I need the time off.”

“I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?” Loki asked– and Tony decided to take the small, fond smile tugging at the corner of Loki’s lips as a victory.

“Do you want to?” Tony asked, matching the smile with one of his own. 

“No,” Loki replied. “I don’t think that I do.”

“Good.” Tony leaned forward to touch their lips together in a brief kiss before pulling away and moving back to his workbench. He shoved away the stuff he had been working on earlier and pulled up a new file. “In that case, I have a lot of work to do. How long until we leave?”

“Tomorrow.” Loki sounded a little bemused, and while Tony didn’t turn to look at Loki’s expression his own smile widened a little.

“Right,” Tony said. “Then I have a _lot_ to get done.”

“Then I suppose I shall leave you to it,” Loki said, still sounding a little confused. He came over to wrap his arms around Tony’s shoulders and press a kiss to his cheek before he left again, and Tony considered turning his head and catching Loki’s lips in a proper kiss– but he really did have ideas in his mind that he wanted to finish before leaving to go to Asgard, and he wouldn’t have the time if he didn’t get started straight away.

So he just leaned into Loki’s touch, and reached up to squeeze his hand. “I’ll see you tonight,” he promised– and then he felt Loki’s smile against his skin as Loki pulled back away.

“Tonight,” Loki echoed. “I’ll hold you to that.”

And as Tony turned his focus to the holographic plans, he couldn’t help but smile in anticipation.

Oh yes. Asgard was going to be an opportunity, indeed.

—–-–—

The Bifröst, Tony decided, was _awesome_.

Of course, he’d already pre-decided to dislike all things Asgardian before they had even left the tower, but he had to admit that their science was pretty awe-inspiring. If he could just spend _five minutes_ tinkering with it—

But, of course, he didn’t get five minutes, because the single guard who met them with horses when they stepped onto the bridge appeared to be in something of a hurry to get somewhere else.

And call Tony ignorant, but surely a prince returning after a long absence deserved more of a welcome than a single Einherji who thrust the reins of a single horse at Loki before getting back on his own steed and galloping off again with barely a word.

“Well, that was rude,” Tony said.

“Everyone in the palace will be busy, with the coronation so close,” Loki said simply. “I remember what it was like the last time. He likely has other duties to attend to.”

“Yeah, well, _still_. What, they couldn’t even give us two horses? They knew I was coming, right?”

“Do you actually know how to ride a horse?” Loki asked amusedly.

“Well, no,” Tony admitted before hurriedly adding– “But that is _so_ not the point, here.”

“The point is that unless you want to spend the rest of your time here with Heimdall, you’re going to have to ride with me,” Loki replied. “Come on.”

And yeah, Tony had to admit that riding with Loki was preferable to riding by himself, partially because he probably would have fallen off if he’d tried, but mostly because he’d never say no to having an excuse to wrap his arms around Loki from behind and hold on as tightly as he wished.

But he still couldn’t stop thinking about that guard, about the way that he had just run off as quickly as he could, as if he didn’t even want to be seen in Loki’s presence– or maybe he just didn’t want to be in Loki’s presence at all.

Perhaps it could have been due to the fact that Loki had only been back to Asgard the once prior to this since he had been pardoned from his former crimes, and that the people were still getting used to the thought of having him in their midst again.

But… Loki hadn’t even seemed to notice, so either he was far better at hiding his emotions from Tony than he seemed when they were at home, or this behaviour had been common enough before as to be normal.

And Tony really, _really_ didn’t like the implications of that at all, because it only confirmed every awful suspicion that he had.

God. They hadn’t even been in Asgard for five minutes and already Tony hated it.

He also hated the way that the people averted their gaze as Loki rode past. Tony had expected _stares_ , he’d expected people to be curious and maybe shocked– he had not expected people to just look away and ignore them entirely.

But they made it to the palace without incident, and although Tony had half wondered if _that_ was where Loki’s welcoming party would be waiting– but the front steps were empty bar the four guards standing either side of the door.

Loki dismounted from the horse and then helped Tony down as well. He passed the reins to one of the guards without a word, and then turned to speak to another.

“Let the Allfather know that we have arrived.”

The guard responded with a simple nod—

Then Loki took Tony by the hand and led him through the corridors and toward his quarters.

And that was it.

No one even came to greet them, which was– well. Tony was more annoyed than disappointed, but Loki was smiling as he pushed open a large, ornate wooden door, so Tony tried not to let it show.

His eyes widened as he stepped across the threshold, because the room on the other side was _massive_ , about four times the size of their bedroom back in the penthouse– and it only seemed to be a sitting room. The tall ceilings made it feel even larger, as did the floor-to-ceiling window on the opposite side of the room, a window which appeared to have no glass in it, and led to an open balcony. The other walls were lined with shelves, and there was another large door set into one of them which Tony was willing to bet led to the bedroom.

“Do you like it?” Loki asked.

“It’s nice,” Tony said– and when Loki snorted, he shoved him lightly in the arm. “No, really. It’s way better than the rest of the palace, more tasteful.” He glanced back at the masses of books. “Very _you_.”

Loki chuckled at that, like he knew exactly what Tony was thinking. “I admit that I like gold as much as the next Asgardian, but too much of it can be sore on the eyes. I prefer other colours when it comes to living with them every day, rather than the abundance of gold that the Allfather favours.”

“Yeah, all the green and leather kind of gives you away on that one,” Tony replied. He moved toward the side of the room, his eyes still on the shelves. “Green is like, _your_ colour though, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Just as red is Thor’s.”

Tony smirked at the confirmation, glad that he’d got that right– and then he turned back to Loki, his hand reaching out to run over the other wooden door that he had strategically placed himself next to. “All right, then. Are you going to show me around? I mean, I’m pretty curious as to what’s through _here.”_

Loki laughed again, and Tony was _glad_ to see him so carefree, that even though he had been so nervous about bringing Tony here, he was still happy to _be_ here.

Tony waited until Loki was at his side, waited so that once again, Loki could be the one who opened the door. And then they both pushed through, both laughing now as they hurried through the other side.

Tony’s grin widened when he saw that he had been right– it _was_ Loki’s bedroom, and it was just as impressive as the sitting room outside. But this time, Tony wasted no time looking at the décor. He pressed right up against Loki and buried his hands in his hair, pulling him down until their lips met in a searing kiss.

“Anthony,” Loki said, the word muffled between their mouths. “I thought that you wanted to see Asgard—”

“I’d like to see this part of Asgard first,” Tony replied, sliding his hands under Loki’s heavy coat and pushing up his leather tunic. “Come on, Loki. Give me the proper tour, will you?”

“We do not have long here—”

“All the more reason to stop arguing with me, then,” Tony replied. He grinned wickedly as he backed away, pulling off his jacket as he went– and then he fell backward onto the overly large bed, and stared up at Loki with an arched brow. “Unless you’d rather we go and do something else?”

Loki stepped closer at that, his eyes sliding over Tony’s body with unrestrained desire. Tony wondered if Loki had thought about this, about having Tony on the bed that he had called his own for most of his life. But when Loki slid over him, pressing him into the mattress and kissing Tony with the kind of intent that made his toes curl, Tony decided that it wasn’t important either way. All that _mattered_ was the feel of Loki’s mouth moving against his own, the way that Loki ground their hips together, and the sound of the groans that pulled from both of their lips.

Loki used only one hand to brace himself as the other slid under Tony’s clothes, pushing them out of the way at first– until he apparently decided that was taking too long, and just vanished them with his seiðr, along with his own. The sudden press of hot skin made Tony gasp, and he arched his spine to press up against Loki as much as he could. Loki kissed down Tony’s throat, sucking and biting just as he knew Tony liked before sliding a little further down again.

He paused when he saw that Tony was wearing the arc reactor for his nanotech suit on his chest, but beyond that short moment of stillness, he didn’t comment on it. He touched his lips to it for a moment before continuing to kiss down Tony’s chest, his mouth leaving a trail of fire that led all the way to the insides of his thighs, which Loki teased until the only intelligible sounds coming from Tony’s mouth were a mix of curses and Loki’s name.

Loki looked up to catch Tony’s gaze as he leaned forward to finally put his mouth right where Tony wanted it, and as much as Tony wanted to watch he couldn’t help throwing back his head and losing himself to the way that Loki was making him feel.

And in that moment, Tony couldn’t help the errant hope that they wouldn’t be going to explore Asgard for quite a while yet.

—–-–—

They didn’t make it out of Loki’s rooms that evening, choosing to spend the time together rather than heading out to face the people who would only disrespect them both. It was certainly a decision that Tony didn’t mind, and Loki seemed entirely content so long as Tony was in his arms.

A servant brought them dinner, which they ate in the sitting room – and which was also the only sign they’d received that anyone else had even noticed that they had arrived. Perhaps the Asgardians really were trying to ignore them.

They spent the night entwined together, and they rose the following morning with the knowledge that they had a full day to explore the city, which Loki assured Tony would be crawling with people who were all preparing for the coronation which would take place the next day.

They ate in Loki’s sitting room again, and then took their time heading through the halls, pausing every now and then as Loki pointed out locations where a prank had taken place, or a particularly good spot to hide from the guards– or from irritated older brothers.

Then they headed out to the streets and Loki walked Tony through the market, showing him the various different items on display. Tony especially liked the section where the metalsmiths displayed their wares, and he spent so long messing around with a sword that contained a mechanism to allow it to extend when it was flicked in a certain way that Loki purchased it for him– which Tony thanked him for with a kiss. He probably would have been having the time of his life, if it weren’t for the way that the Asgardians were _still_ refusing to show Loki even the barest hint of human decency.

The merchants that they talked with at the stalls all showed Loki the proper respect, and had it not been for the way that everyone they did not speak to directly ignored their presence entirely, Tony might not have even noticed. Well, except for when one person actually pushed his way in front of them at one of the stalls. Then, Tony took a step forward and was about to complain when—

“Don’t,” Loki said, tightening his grip on Tony’s hand. He tugged Tony away, then, moving toward one of the side streets, where it was a little quieter, so that they could talk.

“Why do you put up with it?” Tony asked, keeping his voice down but not bothering to hide his annoyance. “It’s not even that you’re a prince, they– they shouldn’t be treating _anyone_ like that.”

Loki smiled, but it was the kind of smile that meant he was grateful for Tony’s words even though he did not agree with them. “I would prefer they ignore me than disrespect me,” he said simply– and maybe he would have said something else as well, but Tony couldn’t just let that go.

“Ignoring _is_ a form of disrespect,” he said. “They don’t even apologise if they bump into you– and what the hell is with that, don’t they know that you could destroy this whole city if you wanted without breaking a sweat?”

“Well, perhaps not without breaking a sweat,” Loki said teasingly, clearly trying to lighten the mood– but when Tony just continued to stare at him, he sighed. “Maybe they do. But they are Asgardians, and something as little as _fear_ would not stop them from showing how they feel. Believe me, it can be a lot worse than this.”

“Worse?” Tony asked. “Yeah, I guess it could be, but they should– I can’t believe that they just– _ugh.”_

“I hope you don’t see what else they can be capable of,” Loki sighed. “It is likely because of you that they are acting this way, knowing that to act out with you here would worsen my reaction to them, as well as the fact that they know you are mortal, and do not want you to get hurt.”

“Now you’re making me sound like a damsel in distress,” Tony complained. “I don’t need to be treated like I’m made of glass, or something. I’m human, not an origami doll.”

“ _I_ know that,” Loki replied. “But they don’t. They don’t know much about mortals, apart from the fact that you are not as strong as us– and while they do not mind merely angering me, they would not dare hurt you when they know what I would do to them.”

“I thought you said fear wouldn’t stop them,” Tony said.

“When it comes to angering me, no. I will not risk fighting back when all they are doing is _ignoring_ me, but if they harmed you?” Loki’s eyes flashed dangerous. “I would tear them to pieces if they hurt so much as a hair on your head, and they _know_ that. But don’t worry. I will not let anything happen to you.”

“And now _you’re_ treating me like a damsel,” Tony pointed out, though Loki just rolled his eyes, clearly picking up on his tone. “ _And_ you changed the subject.”

“It does not matter,” Loki sighed. “We’re only here until the day after tomorrow, and we should not let them stop us from enjoying this. You said that you wanted a vacation.”

“Not if it means that _you_ are uncomfortable,” Tony said. Loki glanced away at that, his lips pressing together as if once again, there was something there that he disagreed with. And Tony was about to ask, but…

Okay. He knew Loki pretty well, yeah? They’d been together for long enough now that Tony really had to think to work out the exact length of time, because he’d long since stopped keeping track. He liked to think that he could read Loki better than anyone else could, and he could certainly read Loki better than _he_ could read anyone else, because he spent so much goddamn time just _watching_ him that he knew every micro expression that crossed Loki’s face far better than he knew his own. So with Loki not quite meeting Tony’s gaze, with all the things he had seen that past day and the way Loki had been acting… When Tony actually stopped to _think_ about it and put the pieces together rather than making his own assumptions, it didn’t take long for him to work it out at all.

“Oh,” he whispered. “This is why you didn’t want me to come, isn’t it? It wasn’t that you didn’t want me to see the way they treated you, it was that you didn’t want me to see the way that you react to it– or rather the way that you _don’t_ react to it.” 

Loki stiffened, but he did not deny it– and Tony knew that he was right.

“Why?” Tony asked, though he did his best not to sound accusatory, to keep his tone soft. “Were you worried that I would think you’re weak or something?”

“Don’t you?” Loki asked, meeting Tony’s gaze with a sudden burst of determination. “You just said that you wanted me to fight back, that I shouldn’t let them walk all over me.”

“I don’t understand it,” Tony replied, “But listen, that doesn’t mean I think you’re weak, okay? I never have, and I never will. And actually, the fact that you put up with this for so long just makes me realise that you’re the strongest person I know. Or, it would, anyway, if I didn’t think that already.”

The corner of Loki’s lips turned up at that, but only briefly, and it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s not worth fighting back,” he muttered. “Odin will just take that as the proof he was waiting for that he should never have pardoned me, and I’ll be right back where I was before. Things will be better when Thor is king. It will be better, after the coronation.”

Loki sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than Tony, and Tony wished he had a way that he could help make him feel better. But there was no way that he would be able to make all of the Asgardians change their attitude, and he had a feeling that anything less wouldn’t help at all.

“Loki,” Tony said. “Do you mind if I ask… why do they treat you that way? I get the impression that it’s not just something that’s been happening since your pardon.”

“You are right,” Loki sighed. “It has always been like this.”

“Is it because you use seiðr?”

“Partially. There are many reasons why they do not find me fit to be called a warrior, and certainly not an ideal prince. And so they would rather pretend that I am not their prince at all– at least unless they have no choice to do so.”

Tony sighed again, and tightened his grip on Loki’s hand– because, yeah. There was only one thing that was going to help now, and that was going to be to get away from the problem. At least as best as they could.

“Come on,” Tony said. “Let’s head back to the palace. I’m sure we’ll be able to find something better to do there, rather than just hanging around here.”

By the time they made it back, it was about time for lunch, so they went to the hall to find some food. It had seemed like a good idea at the time– but, unfortunately—

“Brother!” Thor exclaimed, overly excited as he leapt from his seat and hurried over to them. “And Tony! I had heard that you had arrived, but I did not see you at dinner.”

“We were busy,” Tony said.

“Yes, I imagine,” Thor replied, his grin widening. “I’m glad that you’re here now, though. Come and sit with us!”

Sitting with Thor and his friends seemed to be about the last thing Loki wanted to do, and Tony felt terrible for having brought Loki from one bad situation to another. But before Tony could think of an excuse as to why they needed to leave right-now-immediately, Thor was already pulling them over to the table.

“So this is the mortal that we have heard so much about,” one of Thor’s friends said loudly by way of greeting. He was large and had an orange beard, and it didn’t take much thought to identify him as Volstagg.

“One of them, anyway,” another added. He was blonde– Fandral, then.

“I still find it difficult to believe that Loki is settling down with a _mortal,”_ a woman who could only be Lady Sif said loudly.

“Well, I think it’s strange that he’s settling down at all,” Volstagg replied. “The Loki I remember never would have thought of such things!”

Loki’s smile was tight as he slid into a spot on the bench beside Thor. “Perhaps I have merely found the right person,” he said.

“The right person?” asked Sif. “Loki, he’s—”

“A mortal,” Thor interrupted, his eyes narrowed. “Yes. Is there something wrong with that, Sif?”

Sif glanced down to her plate. “No,” she muttered. “I suppose not.”

There was a story there, Tony was sure of it– but he wasn’t about to ask when the tension was already thick enough that Loki probably could have cut it with one of his daggers.

Thor introduced Tony and his friends to each other– and Tony was gratified to learn that he’d got his names right, as well as his guess that the one who had not spoken was Hogun. Then they ate in uncomfortable silence that was only broken when Thor began to tell the story of how the Avengers had taken down one of the HYDRA bases back before Ultron. Tony couldn’t help but notice that Thor was embellishing Iron Man’s part in the story a little, making him sound like the most formidable of the group, and he realised that Thor was not unaware of the way that he and Loki had been treated since their arrival– and of what his friends were no doubt thinking in that very moment.

“It would seem that you are quite the hero among your own people,” Fandral asked, actually managing to sound almost interested. “Are there many other such warriors on Midgard?”

“There are a couple other groups like the Avengers,” Tony said. “But no one quite like me, no.”

“Anthony is certainly unique,” Loki commented, and Tony grinned.

“Thanks.”

“Then you are the greatest warrior in your realm?” Sif asked, gaining a bit more steam again.

Tony shrugged. “Well, I mean, I’d say that the Avengers are more of a—”

“Of course he is,” Loki cut in– and from the way he was staring at Sif, Tony wondered if there was something going on here that he had managed to miss.

“Then you wouldn’t mind proving it?” Sif was still looking at Tony, hardly sparing Loki a glance.

“Proving it how?” Tony asked– though he thought he might already know the answer. “And– why should I need to, anyway?”

This time, it was Volstagg who answered. “Well, you are courting our prince, are you not?” he asked. “That is not something that just anyone can be allowed to do. If you wish to be Loki’s consort, then you must first prove your worth.”

“ _What?”_ Tony asked. “Loki and I are _already_ together, and there’s nothing that any of you guys can do about it—”

“Perhaps,” said Sif. “But if you want the approval of the _realm_ , then you will need to prove yourself, or you will not be the only one to suffer for it.” Her gaze slid to Loki, and Tony grit his teeth together.

“Is that how this works?” Tony pinned her with a harsh glare. “What, you pretend that Loki doesn’t even exist until you sense a moment where you can just make him feel even worse?”

“Anthony,” Loki whispered. “ _Don’t.”_

“Don’t what? Make it worse? Loki, how can this be—”

“Calm _down.”_ The fact that such a sentiment came from _Thor_ of all people stopped Tony more than the words themselves. “Both of you. There is no need for this.”

“Thor, you know that there is,” Volstagg said. “It is tradition.”

“It’s not _necessary—”_

“Why do you even think that I’m not worthy, anyway?” Tony asked, cutting across Thor. “You don’t even know me.”

“It is not that we think you are not,” said Hogun. “It is that we do not know whether you _are.”_

Tony wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and punch all of them in the face, but he had the feeling that truly would not help matters. Loki was sitting tense beside him, the hand that was curled around Tony’s tight enough that Tony could feel the way that Loki was starting to shake. He wished that they could just up and leave, but he knew that wasn’t an option– this was something that would follow them, he knew it.

So, with hardening resolve, he met Sif’s smug gaze with a glare even sharper than before.

“No, you know what?” he snapped. “You guys want me to prove myself? Then I’ll prove myself. Name your challenge, I’ll take it on.”

Sif’s smug look deepened. “You will fight one of us,” she said. “We are Asgard’s greatest warriors, and if you can stay against one of us for a time, then you will be considered worthy.”

Tony froze.

Because yeah, he knew what he’d said, and he wanted to stand by it– but he also knew exactly how well these Asgardians could fight. When he wasn’t using his magic, they could beat _Loki_ , and Tony had seen him fight with his daggers enough times to be properly concerned.

 _But_.

That didn’t mean that he was about to back away, and he was just preparing to give Sif his answer when someone else beat him to it.

“He will _not,”_ Loki snarled. “There is no need for this farce, Anthony has proven himself to _me_ a thousand times over, and that is all that matters!”

Fandral’s lips quirked at that, but it was clear that he, along with the other three, did not actually _care_ what Loki thought. They wanted to see Tony prove himself on their terms, and they were not going to accept no for an answer. It wasn’t even that they were just not listening because it was Loki making the claim– they weren’t even trusting _Thor’s_ judgement on the matter.

Even now, Thor was backing Loki up, telling his friends that Tony had more than proved himself worthy if only by virtue of the fact that Loki had _chosen_ him– and that even if that weren’t enough, he had defeated more enemies than most of Asgard’s finest warriors. But Sif, it seemed, was not having it.

“If that is the case, then there is no reason for him to be worried,” she said– and then she turned to pin her steely gaze on Tony. “You’re not worried, are you?”

And, _yes_ , Tony knew that he had a choice, here. Loki was right, he didn’t _have_ to agree to the challenge– because he meant what he’d said, earlier. He loved Loki, and he knew Loki loved him– and they weren’t going to let something as stupid as this get in the way. But if he disagreed, he would only be playing into what all the Asgardians thought they already knew– that not only was Loki not worthy to be a prince, but Tony was not worthy to be his consort.

And, anyway—

Hadn’t he been looking for a certain _opportunity?_

In a way, he supposed that he had already decided upon his answer before they had even left the penthouse.

“All right,” he said, glancing between them all. “Who will I be fighting?”

The moment he spoke, Tony felt Loki stiffen at his side. Loki didn’t say anything, probably aware that trying to talk Tony out of it in front of everyone would only make things worse, because it would make it seem like Loki didn’t have faith in Tony either– but Tony knew that he disapproved.

Still, Tony pressed on, and he smiled toothily as Sif gave her answer.

“You will be fighting _me,”_ she said. “I am second only to Thor, and if you last against me for five minutes, perhaps we will consider you a worthy partner for our prince.”

“Five minutes?” Tony asked, raising his brows.

“Perhaps that is too much,” Sif said, frowning– though Tony wasn’t _entirely_ convinced that she was being completely genuine. “I am not familiar with the durability of mortals.” She glanced to Thor. “Should I make it shorter?”

“Tony Stark _will_ last five minutes against you, Sif,” Thor replied– and although there was a touch of concern in his eyes, none of it bled through to his voice. He sounded entirely confident in Tony’s abilities, and Tony appreciated that greatly. It was nice to know that someone, at least, didn’t doubt him.

“Anthony.” Loki, unlike Thor, sounded _wounded,_ and Tony felt it like a shard of ice in his heart.

“Excuse us a minute,” Tony said– and then, without waiting for a reply, he tugged Loki to his feet and pulled him back out of the hall. He heard Volstagg shout that they would send a messenger with a time and place, but he barely paid any attention to it, focused as he was on Loki.

They stayed quiet as they moved through the halls, but the moment the door to Loki’s quarters closed behind them, Tony turned and met Loki’s gaze.

“Loki,” he said– and there was no need to say anything else. The sigh that escaped Loki’s lips sounded more like a pained whine, and he pulled Tony into his arms and held him close, burying his face into Tony’s hair.

“It’s not that I doubt your skill,” Loki said, his voice muffled but not hesitant. “It is just that I know what Sif is like. She will not hold back– she will cut you to pieces if she sees the chance. I do not believe that she would _want_ to kill you, but she was not lying when she said that she is unfamiliar with mortals, and she may not know to—”

“Loki,” Tony said gently. He pulled back slightly, just enough so that he could reach up to cup Loki’s cheeks with both of his hands. He stroked the soft skin under Loki’s eyes with his thumbs, and Loki sighed and leaned into the touch, his eyes falling closed. 

“I just want to you to be safe,” Loki whispered.

“I know,” Tony replied. “But Loki, I need you to trust me on this one, okay?”

“I do trust you,” Loki replied– with no hesitation at all. “Completely. But that will not stop me from worrying.”

Tony smiled at that, and pressed up on his toes so he could touch their lips together for just a fraction of a second.

“It’ll be all right,” he whispered. “You’ll see. I promise.”

Tony knew that Loki would continue to worry, and with good enough reason– Tony was only human after all, and he would be going up against a person who had once been mistaken for a goddess.

But Tony had faith in his own abilities, and he also had one more trick up his sleeve– a trick that he rather hoped would help give him a bit of an edge. 

He’d only know when the time came, however. And for now, he had a few moments where he could hold Loki close and reassure him in the best way he knew how, and he wasn’t going to let them go to waste.

—–-–—

When Tony and Loki arrived with the Einherji who had served as messenger, the others were already waiting– as was a rather large crowd. It seemed that the word had got around, and half of Asgard had shown up to watch the Lady Sif take on the overly-confident mortal.

The ground Sif had chosen was a field just outside the city– wide, open, and flat, perfect for a simple one-on-one. There would be nothing to hide behind, no higher-ground to try and gain an advantage. This fight would be won on pure skill alone.

Sif was standing with Thor, in the middle of an open space that the crowd had left cleared, her armour gleaming in the sunlight, a silver shield that doubled as a sheath for her large sword strapped upon her arm. Tony drew in a deep breath at the sight of her, and ignoring the shouts from the crowd which all seemed to be in her favour he went to take a step forward, intending to take his place– but was stopped by a tug on his arm.

And without warning, Loki pulled Tony against him, and then kissed him right in full view of that whole crowd.

They lingered together for a moment, their eyes locked– and then, without a word, Loki offered him a tight smile and nudged him toward the battle field.

Sif looked entirely unimpressed as he approached, her lips twisting and her brows raising in incredulous disbelief.

“You cannot fight me like that,” she said, looking him up and down, her lip curling as she took stock of his clothes. He’d totally gone all out for this– sweats and a hoodie. She _should_ be honoured, he didn’t dress like this for everyone, but it seemed that she didn’t appreciate it at all. “You are unarmed, and unarmoured,” she said. “You are not going to last even five _seconds.”_

Tony smiled. “I’m never unarmed,” he told her sweetly. “Not anymore.”

She gave a little huff, and Tony turned to face Thor instead.

“Shall we get this show on the road?”

“Yes, we shall,” Thor said. He held Tony’s gaze for a moment, and Tony could have sworn Thor was trying to hold back a laugh. “Tony Stark, Lady Sif, you have requested that there be no rules other than those of an ordinary duel. No seiðr, no killing. Usually, we would go to first blood, but given the circumstances…” Thor’s eyes rested on Tony for a moment. “You shall fight until one of you remains on the ground for longer than a count of three.”

“You think he will have a better chance of knocking me down than making me bleed?” Sif asked with a touch of laughter.

“No,” Thor said. “I merely think that it will be easier to see when the match has been won if we do it this way. That is all– good luck to both of you. You begin on my signal.”

After eyeing them both for a few more seconds, Thor turned and went to stand on the sidelines next to Loki, completely ignoring the obvious gestures of Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral to join them instead. Tony smiled at that– but then his attention was drawn by the sound of metal scraping together, and he turned to see that Sif had drawn her sword.

“Still unarmed, Tony Stark?” She asked.

Instead of giving her an answer, Tony lifted his hand, and tapped his fingers against the heart-shaped arc reactor on his chest. Sif frowned in confusion—

And then her eyes widened as silver circuitry spiderwebbed out from the reactor, followed by the hard outer shell of his nanotech armour. But rather than the iconic red, the majority of the metal was an inky black, though there were splashes of gold along his sides, on his pauldrons, his upper arms, and over his forearms. Accompanying the gold were bands of deep green in the exact same shade that Loki liked to wear– two lines running down Tony’s chest, another dash spreading over the tops of each shoulder and connecting in a V on his back, and a little more on each wrist.

Tony had created the new design for the armour right after Loki had told him that they were going to come to Asgard– because he knew that if he was going to need to use the armour here, he would absolutely fucking not be flaunting his usual colours. There was only one Asgardian he wanted to represent, and it sure as hell wasn’t Thor.

Anyone who had ever seen Loki’s battle armour recognised the colour patterns _immediately_ , and the gasps that came from the crowd were loud enough for Tony to hear, even from such a distance.

“I told you,” Tony said loudly, grinning just as his golden faceplate closed over his face– and his next words were spoken with an added metallic cadence. “I’m _never_ unarmed.”

Sif’s expression hardened once more into a mask of vicious determination—

Then the crack of thunder sounded through the air, and the pair of them charged forward.

Sif’s fighting style was not one that Tony was used to. She fought with brutal efficiency that was similar, in a way, to Thor, though her shield gave her a defensive advantage that Thor always did without. She was also nimbler, but it was clear that unlike most people her size, she was still used to being the stronger person in a fight– for she would put the force of her whole body behind a blow without seeing the need to dance away quickly afterwards, and she charged like she was sure she couldn’t be stopped.

Tony spent most of the first minute or so dodging, using the advantage of speed that his repulsors gave him to keep out of her way. But he knew that even with her vicious fighting style, he would tire long before she would, and he needed to finish this quickly.

So he stopped dodging– and the first time he caught Sif’s sword in his hand, her expression was absolutely _priceless._ Unfortunately, she wrenched it from his grasp before he could pull it out of hers, and then she was back to trying to hack him to pieces.

But Tony knew what he needed to do. She was vulnerable– Sif was wearing armour, yes, but she did not wear a helmet, and all Tony needed was one solid blast to her head—

A punch was out of the question, he knew that– he’d seen Thor shrug off a punch from the _Hulk_ , after all. But he had so much more than that at his disposal.

He needed space, though, and she was always on him– so he shot up into the air, releasing a trail of flares behind him to get her off his tail for a couple of seconds. And a couple of seconds was all that he needed.

It gave him the room he needed to shoot a repulsor at her feet, then another quick one to her side, then her head– his hands moving in quick succession while the stabilisers in his back kept him steady. As Tony thought she would, Sif raised her shield to cover her head– effectively disrupting her line of vision enough that she didn’t notice when several small, U-shaped pieces of metal detached from his back and flew toward her– and she also didn’t have time to get out of the way when Tony hurtled forward and tackled her around the middle, knocking her to the ground. The glorified staples slammed down over her wrists and ankles, pinning her to the ground, the repulsors on each one helping to hold her down. The repulsors on Tony’s back were fired up, too, and the combined force was enough to _keep_ her there.

And then, Tony listened as the stunned crowd began to count.

Sif struggled, and yelled in anger– she was strong, but she was not quite strong enough, and when the crowd reached the end of their count she was still pressed into the ground.

Tony stood and told FRIDAY to remove the repulsor powered staples the moment the fight was over, and he retracted his helmet as he offered her a hand up.

“That was _not_ a fair fight,” she spat, slapping his hand away and getting up herself.

“Sure it was,” Tony replied simply. “You said the only rules were no seiðr, and no killing. I am pretty sure that I didn’t break either of those.”

She glared, but did not utter any further complaints. And, even though he knew it was a little petty, Tony couldn’t resist saying one more thing.

“FRI, how long did that fight last?”

“Four minutes and thirty two seconds, Boss.”

“Well, would you look at that,” Tony said with a smirk. “I guess you were right, Sif. Five minutes was too long, after all.”

Sif’s glare worsened. “Congratulations on your win,” she spat– and then she pushed past him and stalked back toward the crowd.

“Thank you,” Tony called after her– and then, shaking his head in amusement, he followed.

When he reached the edge of the field, Sif was already talking to Hogun in low undertones, but the rest of the assembled Asgardians were all staring at him in awe– and he knew that it was not _just_ because of his fancy new paint job. For better or for worse, he had managed to impress them.

Not that he cared all _that_ much. He only had eyes for one of them—

But when Tony caught sight of Loki, his lips painted with a proud smile but standing slightly behind Thor as if he were in his shadow… Tony felt like all of this was wrong.

The Asgardians had just seen what Tony was capable of, what he could do with a suit of armour he had created himself. But none of them appreciated Loki, not in the way that they _should_.

And maybe, just maybe, it was time that Tony did something about that.

“Loki,” he shouted– loud, clear, and _demanding_. “I challenge you to duel.”

Loki’s eyes widened, and then suddenly he was pushing his way forward, uncaring of the crowd that stood between them. The moment they were close, Loki gripped Tony’s arm.

“What are you doing?” he hissed.

“You said you trust me,” Tony reminded him quietly.

Loki held his gaze for a moment longer, before giving a firm nod.

“Very well,” he said, speaking for all to hear, now. “I accept.”

“Don’t pull your punches,” Tony warned him, speaking loudly so that everyone would be able to hear. “I certainly won’t.”

“Are you saying that you want me to use _all_ of my abilities?” Loki shot back, catching on quickly. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, everything in your arsenal,” Tony replied. “I’m fighting to win, Lokes. They all think I’m a damsel, remember? I want to prove to them that I am _more_ than capable of looking after myself.”

Tony wasn’t even lying. If everything went to plan – even as quickly and roughly concocted as the plan was – then this gambit would hopefully serve a dual purpose.

Loki seemed to realise that as well, and his smirk turned dangerous as he twisted his hands, a dagger appearing in each. “Very well,” he said. “Good luck, Anthony. I promise to heal any injury that I should inflict.”

Tony wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say in response to that – what, that he’d offer Loki an icepack and a massage? – and he was almost thankful when Loki did not wait before making his move so that Tony didn’t have the chance. He could have done without the ringing headache, however, when his helmet slammed _hard_ into the ground as the blast of seiðr knocked him off his feet.

Tony refused to let that be _it_ though, and used his repulsors to lift himself off the ground in less than a single second.

Loki really had taken Tony’s instruction not to hold back to heart– he came at Tony with everything he had, illusions flickering all around and attacking from all sides with both daggers and magic. Tony had the advantage of flight, but Loki didn’t need repulsors to seem like he was dancing through the air. Tony had always been in awe of Loki when he fought, but he’d never had to _fight_ him like this before, not one on one, not outside of training sessions.

Completely surrounded and not knowing which Loki was the real one, Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest and spun, his repulsors blasting in all directions and forcing Loki to throw up a shield, the illusions dissipating.

_Gotcha._

Tony blasted up while he kept both hands trained on Loki, then cut off one of the repulsors and pulled his hand back—

Loki caught his punch and pushed out with his seiðr at the same time, causing Tony to spin sideways through the air. Tony just went with the flow and took Loki with him, lifting them both up high before angling downward and slamming Loki bodily into the ground with an almighty crash.

He had FRIDAY start a count, and heard the crowd doing the same—

But then Loki snarled, and his eyes started to glow green.

“Oh, shit,” Tony cursed—

And then Loki shoved hard at his chest and flipped them so Tony was on the ground, and Loki was kneeling over him with his legs either side of Tony’s waist.

Tony’s suit was _locked_ , nothing responding, every mechanism frozen in place. So he tried to retract the suit, to get the nanobots to form something else– then an impossible force pressed down across his whole body, keeping him in place. 

Loki didn’t physically hold Tony down– he stayed kneeling over him with his hands and eyes glowing with power, forcing Tony into the ground. Still Tony tried to fight right to the very end, even as the count rang in his ears.

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

The moment it was done, Loki stopped his assault and got to his feet, pulling Tony with him at the same time. Tony retracted his helmet so that Loki could see his grin.

“Good fight,” he said.

Loki smiled, but his voice was quiet as he asked, “Why did you do that?”

Tony shrugged. “Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned when I was here, it’s that the only thing these assholes respect is the ability to dish out violence,” he explained easily. “I mean, personally, I think that the fact you hold back makes you even more impressive, especially since they sure as hell don’t deserve it– but they can’t seem to get that through their thick heads, so I thought I’d help hammer the point home.”

Loki’s lips quirked at that, and Tony could see the warmth in his eyes. “And this?” Loki asked, running his hands up the sides of Tony’s suit, over the gold and the green that was purposefully designed to look like the lapels on the coat of Loki’s battle armour.

“Do you like it?” Tony asked– and when Loki only arched a brow in the universal code for _what kind of a question is that?_ , Tony grinned. “Yeah, well. That’s mostly why. But also, I guess I just wanted to show them all that I don’t care what they think. _I_ think you’re awesome.”

“I love you,” Loki said– loudly, clearly, for everyone to hear– even though Tony knew that the words were meant only for him.

“I know,” he replied, retracting his gauntlets so that he could thread his fingers through Loki’s hair– though he left the rest of the armour in place so that they would still match. “I love you, too.”

And Tony knew that when they turned to face the crowd, they would have to deal with Thor’s excitement and the Asgardian’s surprise. And he knew that this wouldn’t be an instant fix, but he had to hope that after the display he and Loki just put on, the Asgardians were going to have revaluate their criteria for a good warrior– because yeah, everyone in Asgard might be massive assholes, but now that they saw what Loki could do, surely they could no longer deny that Loki was one of their best.

But just for a few moments, before the roar of the crowd grew overwhelming and before Thor’s thundering footsteps approached, it was just the two of them, holding each other in their own little bubble. And despite all the reasons Tony’d had for putting on the show in the first place, he knew that _they_ were really all that mattered. 

Still, in the days to come, Tony would enjoy watching the Asgardians treat Loki with a newfound respect, and would enjoy being treated as something of an equal himself.

But the thing that Tony loved most was seeing Loki come out of his shell more, because he had always deserved more than the Asgardians were willing to give–and now they could all finally see it.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find the art on tumblr [here!](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/645081049324470272/dressed-to-impress-with-quietlyapocalyptic)


End file.
